Various adjustable gauge blocks have been proposed for machines, such as a saw table, wherein the gauge blocks can be set for establishing a desired dimension at which the workpiece is to be cut. The gauge blocks are normally slidably mounted on the table and held at a selected position by a set screw.
While these gauge blocks have been satisfactory for their intended purpose, they have been characterized by certain disadvantages in that it can be time consuming to slide the block to a particular location and then to tighten the set screw to fix the gauge block at a precise location adjacent a scale on the table to establish the desired dimension at which the workpiece is to be cut. Furthermore, when individually cutting a plurality of workpieces to the same dimension, the abutting of each workpiece against the block and the normal vibration of the table during the cutting operation causes the set screw to loosen, resulting in the gauge block moving from the fixed position, thus, requiring the operator to stop the machine and reset the gauge block.
After considerable research and experimentation, the gauge block of the present invention has been devised which can be easily and quickly fixed to a saw table at a desired location adjacent a scale on the table, whereby the gauge block will remain stationary at the desired location during the entire time of the cutting operation.